House hunting in the Netherlands has become a bit like playing a real-life escape room: stressful, expensive, and full of questionable manoeuvres.
According to research by RTL Nieuwspanel in collaboration with LINDA.meiden, nearly one in four young people is actively on the hunt for housing right now.
If you’re between 18 and 35 and searching for a place to rent, chances are you’ve already run into some… let’s say, creative practices from landlords and agencies.
Here’s what to watch out for (and what to say hell nee to.)
You shouldn’t be paying several months’ rent in advance
Picture this: you find the perfect apartment, only to be told you’ll need to hand over several months’ rent as a deposit.
READ MORE | 9 kooky things about renting in the Netherlands
Dutch law says landlords can only ask for a maximum of two months’ rent in advance, but apparently, some owners missed that memo.
And viewing fees? Super illegal
Others get even more creative, charging “viewing fees” just to let you peek inside.
Speaking with RTL Nieuws, Gert Jan Bakker, who works for the reporting centre for undesirable rental behaviour at the !WOON Foundation in Amsterdam, explains:
“If someone places an ad offering a property for rent and someone is interested, you can’t charge for it. A viewing simply has to be arranged.”
Key deposits are mythical, and you don’t always pay the agent
Another dodgy practice that isn’t actually allowed? Demanding mystery “key deposits,” or slapping on agency fees.
Firstly, a “key deposit” doesn’t exist. And secondly, paying agency fees is only legal if you actually hired the agent yourself (not if you just responded to a listing by that agency).
Add to all this the many fake ads that make you fall in love with a dream flat that doesn’t even exist, and you really have to keep yourself alert.
So, if you’re setting off on your Dutch rental adventure, keep your wits about you, your wallet close, and your sense of humour intact.
Have you ever run into any of these dodgy rental tricks yourself? Or maybe you’ve got a horror story of your own? Tell us in the comments below.
